Former White House aide Hope Hicks wept on the witness stand at former President Donald Trump’s secret trial on Friday when her lawyer asked her about her time as a candidate for the former president, reportedly prompting the judge to ask for a break.
Hicks, once a close confidant of Trump’s who served as Trump’s press secretary in his 2016 crusade and communications director during his presidency, began to cry when Trump’s lawyer, Emil Bove, asked him about his time as a candidate for the Trump Organization.
Earlier Friday, while answering questions from prosecutors, Hicks described her conversations with former Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen about allegations that Trump had relationships with porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, adding how she and Cohen exchanged text messages about the Stormy Daniels scandal.
The line of questioning is designed by prosecutors to reveal that Cohen illegally coordinated with Trump’s crusade to overturn the allegations in an effort to influence the election, adding by paying Daniels for her silence.
Hicks also detailed the pain he felt in reaction to the release of the Access Hollywood tape in which Trump describes how he can just “grab [women] through. “
Hicks said she was “worried, very worried” when the Washington Post first alerted the crusader to its plans to publish an article about the tape, which it then sent to its team with orders to “deny, deny, deny,” according to a copy. from an email filed Friday through prosecutors, the New York Times reported.
Hicks testified that Trump’s initial reaction that the comments he made about the tape “didn’t seem like anything he would say,” the same defense he used in reaction to the Washington Post.
While the recording is not the subject of any charges against Trump, prosecutors have used it to describe how it sparked a concerted effort through Trump’s crusade to suppress stories about his misplaced habit toward women, which ultimately led to discreet cash payments. .
Receive text alerts from Forbes Breaking News: We post SMS alerts to keep you up to date with the most important news making the day’s headlines. Send “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or register here.
Hicks made several statements that could bolster Trump’s defense that his family circle fears the most in connection with the allegations in the case and that Cohen had not officially worked for the campaign. “He was worried about how he would be perceived by his wife,” Hicks said of Trump’s reaction to the allegations in that case. Cohen, he said, would “try to insert himself at times” into campaign operations, adding that Coehn “became a bully” and made “unauthorized” moves, the Times reported. . Surprising fact
Hicks detailed how Trump “congratulated” former National Enquirer editor David Pecker on the unflattering policy he directed at Trump’s rivals: “It’s Pulitzer worthy,” Hicks told Pecker. “
Hicks, who said she was “nervous” at the beginning of her testimony, praised Trump, describing him as a “hard worker” and a master of the art of branding. Hicks’ testimony before Congress as a component of its Jan. 6 investigation broke Hicks’ past close relationships with Trump, the Washington Post reported, and she told jurors Friday that she had not spoken to him since the summer. or fall 2022, about the same time she was. called to testify. Hicks told lawmakers at the time that he warned Trump that it was unlikely that fraud in the 2020 election could have influenced the effects of the vote and that Trump, in response, “said something like, you know, “A “No one will care about my legacy if I lose, so it probably won’t matter. ” The only thing you fear is winning. » Hicks also criticized Trump in text messages on January 6, according to evidence collected through the committee, writing: “I am so upset Everything we have worked for has been erased. In another post, he said: “In one day “It ended all the long-term opportunities that didn’t come with speaking engagements at the local Proud Boys chapter. ”
Manhattan prosecutors called Hicks to the stand Friday morning, after she testified before the Manhattan grand jury that voted to indict Trump last year, according to multiple reports. Hicks was one of Trump’s most trusted advisers during his time in the White House and has tamed through the pain in some of Trump’s biggest controversies, adding former special agent Robert Mueller’s investigation into collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Hicks, who in the past worked for Ivanka Trump’s fashion company before Trump recruited her for his presidential campaign, recently resigned after her congressional testimony in 2018 and returned to the White House for a brief era in 2020. praising her for her “wonderful work” and describing her as “as wise and considerate as you can get, a really wonderful person. “
Prosecutors charged Trump last year with 34 counts of tampering with business records, alleging that he illegally classified reimbursements to Cohen for secret invoices he made to Daniels as legal fees on business records. In addition to the payment to Daniels, the National Enquirer’s parent company, American Media, Inc. , filed two separate bills on Trump’s behalf for McDougal and a doorman who claimed to have knowledge of a child Trump fathered out of wedlock (allegations the National Enquirer is false), according to prosecutors and Pecker, who said Trump never reimbursed the company for those two deals. Trump’s fees do not include invoices sent to McDougal and the doorman, but prosecutors used them to illustrate to jurors their claims that Trump executed secret cash schemes to influence the effects of the 2020 presidential election. Trump pleaded not guilty to the fees and claimed, without evidence, that they were filed on behalf of President Joe Biden to hurt his chances of winning the election.
Hicks’ call was raised several times during the trial, and was added through Pecker, who told jurors that he helped arrange cash bills for 3 Americans who were threatening to press charges of extramarital affairs involving Trump. Pecker said Hicks was “in and out” during a 2015 town hall he had with Trump and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen at Trump Tower, where Pecker promised to be “the eyes and ears” of the Trump campaign. Pecker also testified that Trump arranged to talk on the phone with Hicks and former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in 2018, some time after Playboy style Karen McDougal detailed her alleged relationship with Trump to CNN’s Anderson Cooper. , had already entered a “catch and kill”. deal with McDougal to buy his rights to the story, and testified that he told Hicks and Sanders that he was contemplating changing McDougal’s agreement to prevent him from continuing to talk about the matter, adding that the two “thought it was a smart idea. ” . Federal prosecutors, in their case opposing Cohen for his involvement in the secret bills, alleged that Hicks was on a phone call with Trump and Cohen on the day Trump was informed that adult film star Stormy Daniels was trying to sell his story of an adventure. with Trump, as well as a second phone call the day after Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence, according to the New York Times. Hicks, in her 2019 testimony before Congress as part of her investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, denied the wisdom of Daniels’ deal when it was made and told lawmakers she was not involved in any discussions between Cohen and Trump on payment. .
Who is David Pecker? Former National Enquirer Editor Admits ‘Catch and Kill’ Project on Trump’s Behalf in Hush Money Lawsuit (Forbes)
Who is Karen McDougal? What you want to know about the time she paid cash for an alleged affair with Trump. (Forbes)
What You Want to Know About the 3 Secret Money Scandals Amid Trump’s Criminal Trial (Forbes)
A community. Lots of voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.
Our network aims to connect other people through open and thoughtful conversations. We need our readers to share their perspectives and exchange ideas and facts in one space.
To do so, please comply with the posting regulations in our site’s terms of use. We’ve summarized some of those key regulations below. Simply put, civilian.
Your message will be rejected if we notice that it appears to contain:
User accounts will be blocked if we become aware that users are participating in:
So how can you become a user?
Thank you for reading our Community Standards. Read the full list of publishing regulations discovered in our site’s terms of use.